Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a zoom lens which is suitable for use with, in particular, digital cameras, lens-replaceable digital cameras, etc., and an imaging apparatus provided with the zoom lens.
Description of the Related Art
So-called constant aperture zoom lenses having a zoom ratio of around 2.5 to 3.0, and a constant maximum aperture of around F2.8 or F4 across the entire zoom range are known.
Such a zoom lens has a four-group or five-group configuration including, for example, in order from the object side, a first lens group which has a positive refractive power and is fixed during magnification change, a second lens group which has a negative refractive power and has a strong magnification change effect, about one or two magnification change groups which are provided in addition to the second lens group and include a lens group having a positive refractive power, and a rearmost lens group which is fixed during magnification change.
In recent years, many of lenses for digital still cameras, single-lens reflex cameras, mirrorless cameras, etc., are equipped with an image stabilization mechanism, and zoom lenses of the above-described type equipped with an image stabilization mechanism are known, as taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication Nos. 2011-099964, 2011-158599, and 2012-118097 (hereinafter, Patent Documents 1 to 3).